SHANGHAI.- China’s dynamic future is embodied in the third edition of Asia’s most forward-looking international contemporary art fair. The immense artistic and commercial potential of the Asian market is harnessed through a series of bold new initiatives at ShC09. The Collector’s Development Program (CDP) which engages an entire new generation of collectors; and the Discoveries section which explores the question “what is contemporary art?” In addition at ShC09: The Best of Galleries selection of invited top Asian and International galleries.

Platform, the new section focused on emerging artists and work produced in the last two years.

The Collector’s Development Program (CDP)
This year, ShContemporary has created a specialized team whose purpose is to engage with emerging collectors in China and create fresh networking opportunities.

Through partners who represent China’s fast emerging affluent sector of society, ShC actively reaches out to potential and emerging collectors. Fair Director Colin Chinnery explains the thinking behind the CDP: “We have resources larger than those of individual galleries or independent advisors, and we are putting these resources to use all year round instead of just the few days during an annual art fair, to create a platform that can really make a long-term difference in the Chinese contemporary art market.”

Discoveries
The Discoveries section is a curated exhibition and forum of lectures with the theme “Discovering Contemporary”.

· A team of three curators – Mami Kataoka, Anton Vidokle, and Wang Jianwei - have created a thematic exhibition that explores the question “What is contemporary art?” 24 artists from all around the world, from the most established to the just emerging, have been selected to present their individual responses to this essential question.

· Artists being presented in Discoveries include Anri SALA, FENG Mengbo, Fiona TAN, SINJI Ohmaki, LIU Wei, Joseph KOSUTH, XU Zhen, Marina ABRAMOVIC, Heman CHONG, Nedko SOLAKOV, Aiko MIYANAGA, Susan NORRIE, and many others.

· Participating galleries include Marian Goodman, ShanghART, Sean Kelly, Mizuma Art, Christian Nagel, PKM Gallery, Vitamin Creative Space, and several others.

· The same fundamental question of asking what the term ‘contemporary art’ means shall be explored in depth over a four day Forum of lectures and panels. Guest speakers including Martha Rosler, Gao Shiming, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Boris Groys and others will form a body of international experts organized by Anton Vidokle.

BEST OF GALLERIES presents invited galleries from around the world on the basis of projects and special presentations. The best galleries from the entire Asian region including Long March Space, TakaIshii, Art ISSUE are exhibiting alongside a carefully selected group of galleries from Europe and America such as Galleria Continua, Giorgio Persano, James Cohan, and are showing the most interesting contemporary talent, with a special focus on Asian contemporary art.